Prospective owners of the seven new lots on Grove Street in Porter Creek will find a number of changes to the city's lottery.

This morning, the city released the packages for the lottery of the new lots on its website (www.city.whitehorse.yk.ca) and at the Municipal Services Building on Fourth Avenue.

Prices for the 767- to 824-square-metre properties range from $120,750 to $130,200 (including the GST).

By comparison, the city's residential land lottery held last March for new sites open in Takhini North saw three single-family lots priced at between $92,190 and $110,250.

Duplex lots were also priced between $151,725 and $178,185.

The lots on Grove Street are not large enough to house duplexes.

The lots on the west side of the street toward Ninth Avenue were one of six Porter Creek sites identified in 2008 for residential development that already had the proper zoning and designation for new homes.

Within the lottery package are details as well on changes to the way the city operates its land lottery, including to the fees prospective property owners will pay.

They should be prepared to hand over $535 when they submit their application by the closing date of Aug. 6, a full $165 more than they would have paid in past lotteries with the city.

That comes from a $35 drop in the application fee from $60 to $25, along with a $200 increase to the administration fee to $500.

Dropping the application fee was done to bring the charge for the processing of applications in line with the same fee outlined in Yukon government land lotteries, city land development officer Pat Ross said this morning.

The administration fee change pushes the city's charge higher than the territory's same charge in its land lotteries.

As Ross said, it was done to help ensure those applying were serious about the purchase.

The need for a notary public to act as an agent in an applicant's absence, is also designed for the same purpose.

The administration fee will be held and only processed after the lottery and stand-by list has been completed.

Only when an applicant opts not to go ahead with the purchase if his or her name is drawn is the fee not returned.

"There's no risk if you're interested in getting the lot you're offered,” Ross said. He cited situations in the past where a group of people would apply to buy one property so one individual could get it.

Fees for those whose names are not drawn will be made available by the city on Aug. 17. Those on the stand-by list will be able to get their fees back only after the city has sold the lots.

Bumping up the fee, he said, will mean there's more at stake for those stating their interest in a property.

For those successful in the lottery, the fee will go toward the purchase of the land.

Most of those new property owners will pay $130,200 for their sites, with only two lots being lower.

The most inexpensive of the lots is the smallest 767-square-metre site – $120,750 – at 551 Grove St., the middle lot of the seven.

The only other to be less than $130,200 is next door at 553 Grove St. At 789 square metres, the property is $124,950.

All other properties, beginning 545 Grove St. and ending at 557 Grove St. are 820 square metres and larger, and all are priced at $130,200.

Ross said the prices for Grove Street was arrived at using a formula that includes fair market value and the cost of development.

Despite the lofty prices, Ross said he expects there to be a lot of interest in the new lots.

As he pointed out, they are in an already-existing neighbourhood which includes city services where prospective property owners can view what kind of homes are already on the street and decide what kind of home they might want to develop.

The new lots are about the same depth as other properties on Grove Street, with the same zoning of Residential Single Detached, he said.

"I think these will be appealing,” Ross said.

The lottery will close at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 6 with the drawing happening at 2 p.m. Aug. 10 in council chambers at city hall.